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Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Review - 'Supergirl', S02E02 - 'The Last Children of Krypton'

The first season of
Supergirl might have been somewhat inconsistent, but there had
been a lot to like about the second season's first episode. There
were the great moments of humour, and character-driven drama. There
were a handful of genuinely exciting action sequences. There was a
very entertaining portrayal of Superman, provided by Tyler Hoechlin.
Most importantly, though, the episode also ended with a great set-up
for the rest of the season, with the reveal that Project Cadmus was
set to emergy into the spotlight – and that, through them, the
hit-man, John Corben (Frederick Schimdt), would become the classic
'Superman' villain, Metallo.

John Corben hadn't
been an overly impressive villain in the previous episode, of course
– but, the thought that he would go on to become this much more
formidable figure (a cyborg who, thanks to a Kryptonite power source,
actually posed a significant threat to both heroes) definitely had
potential. So, it was a promising set-up – although, to be honest,
it wasn't one that I was expecting the series to return to,
immediately.

But, then, that is
exactly what happened with the second season of Supergirl –
as the series clearly hopes to maintain that strong sense of momentum
that the first episode was able to establish. With Metallo active,
and with his sights firmly set on the Kryptonian superheroes, we have
a great set-up for some of the best moments of 'superhero' action
that we have every seen on Supergirl.

Honestly, it seems
strange to me that, after the somewhat shaky action sequences and
special effects work of the first season, we would see what appears
to be a fairly significant improvement in both this episode, and the
previous one – especially considering the reduced budget. But, so
far, that seems to have been exactly what has happened. The
Krytonian's various battles with not one, but two, Kryptonite powered
cyborgs (since, it is not long until John Corben is joined by a
second 'Metallo') are incredibly impressive – and, easily match
anything we have seen on any of the CW's other DC shows, up until
this point. It seems that this extra level of care, and attention to
detail (as a means of countering the reduced budget), is just one of
the many changes brought about by the change in networks – and,
it's definitely one that I appreciate.

On a more personal
level, Cat Grant's offer to, essentially, give her former assistant
any job that she wanted at CatCo Worldwide Media seems to have
backfired on Kara. Ultimately choosing to follow in her cousin's
footsteps, and become a serious journalist, Kara finds herself almost
immediately confronted by the disapproval of her new boss, Snapper
Carr (Ian Gomez) – who, perhaps understandably, isn't too eager to
mentor someone who was just given the job, rather than earning it.
So, instead of the odd brand of 'tough love' support she so often
received from Cat Grant, Kara will now have to endure the
contemptuous apathy of someone who doesn't want her there.

While this is,
obviously, a very different dynamic to the one that it is set to
replace, at this point I'm not entirely convinced that it is going to
amount to anything interesting. For one thing, this sort of dynamic
(disapproving male authority figure giving a young woman, out to
prove herself, a hard time) feels like a bit of a throw-back. Snapper
Carr, himself, also feels a bit like a walking cliche, at this point
– seeming to share some overt similarities with just about every
other 'scruffy, hard-edged, journalist' character to ever appear
on-screen.

Obviously, both the
character, and the new dynamic, are elements that will be fleshed out
in future episodes. I am just going to have to hope that they can
evolve into something interesting – because, at the moment, I'm not
feeling particularly invested in either.

But, of course,
with Cat Grant set to leave her role as CEO of her own media empire
(for reasons which, I'm sure, make perfect sense to the extremely
wealthy), it is a change that clearly needed to happen. Obviously,
any member of the audience who pays attention to this sort of thing
would already know that the real reason for Cat Grant's oddly sudden
departure, as she heads off to 'seek out new challenges', is the
change in filming locations brought about with the change in network
– and, Calista Flockhart's, perfectly understandable, unwillingness
to follow the rest of the cast to Canada, on a permanent basis.

So, there's an
obvious reason behind the character's departure – but, I still have
to wonder how it all comes across to someone who isn't familiar with
the behind the scenes details. Because, based on what we have come to
know about Cat Grant, over the course of the previous episode, I
can't say that her sudden departure, here, actually makes a whole lot
of sense. It feels much more like a vague, and hastily written,
attempt to justify her departure than any genuine sort of character
development (which is probably exactly what it was, of course –
but, the audience shouldn't be able to notice that).

Elsewhere, this was also an episode
which, much like the previous one, managed to find room for a wide
variety of great character moments. The scenes which opened the
episode, featuring the team-up between Superman and Supergirl before
Metallo was revealed, were very entertaining – as the two continued
to build on the natural rapport that Melissa Benoist and Tyler
Hoechlin were able to establish in the previous episode. The strong
bond between the two was entirely convincing – and, it already
feels like a bit of a shame that Tyler Hoechlin's Superman is only
set to appear in a handful of episodes. Similarly, the lingering
tension between Superman and the Martian Manhunter, regarding the
DEO's possession of Kryptonite, provided Tyler Hoechlin and David
Harewood with some great scenes, together. Elsewhere, Winn Schott's
very overt adoration of Superman, and Superman's mildly bemused
reaction to it, provided the episode with some great moments of
comedy.

Alex,
meanwhile, found herself caught up in an odd blend of jealousy and
resentment with regard to the strong bond between Kara, her adopted
sister, and Kara's biological cousin. With Kara's momentary
uncertainty about all of the changes taking place around her leading
her to wonder whether she would be better off spending some time in
Metropolis, Alex began to feel as though her role in Kara's life was
unappreciated. Obviously, this was meant to be a moment of sisterly
tension that was intended to be addressed, and resolved, by the end
of the episode – but, it came and went so fast that it didn't
really leave much of an impression.

At
this point, it has started to feel as though the people behind
Supegirl are eager to
take the opportunity to do a bit of 'course-correction' with James
Olsen. First, we had the very abrupt manner in which the romatic
sub-plot, between him and Kara, was brought to an end – with Kara
coming to the conclusion that it may have been a mistake to rush into
a relationship. Now, we have James's single scene in this episode,
where it seems that he is being set up take over for Cat Grant, in
her absence. Combine that with the fact that James's eventually
transition into a costumed crime-fighter, in his own right, as
already been revealed, and it seems as though Supergirl
is going out of its way to turn James Olsen into the complex, and
interesting, character that he should have been, from the beginning.
Hopefully, it will work out for the best.

With
the second episode, it seems as though this season of Supergirl
is set to make the most of the opportunities provided by a change in
network. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the series is
'reinventing' itself, since it still feels very familiar – but, it
definitely feels as though there is a bit of 'behind-the-scenes'
retooling taking place, as it is brought more in line with the CW's
other DC shows. So far, the result of all of this has been two very
strong episode, and a great start to the new season – and, it
definitely leaves me feeling hopeful for the rest of the season.